• Workshop Reports Cluster I

This workshop cluster showcased successful and inspiring initiatives in the following areas: 

1. The concept of ESD: where we came from and where we’re heading

Coordinators: Rhodes University, South Africa, and National Institute for Educational Policy Research, Japan

The concept of ESD emerged through the need to bring environment and development education together in a new synthesis oriented towards sustainable development. Embedded in the concept of ESD are the inter-relations of society, economy and environment. The history of the ESD concept shows movement towards an integrated perspective, and also towards a more robust understanding of ESD concepts, competences and values.

This workshop will discuss both the history and the future of the concept of ESD and its continued relevance. It will focus on discussing the concept of ESD and what we have learned from the DESD about the nature and dimensions of ESD, and how to further strengthen the understanding of ESD for the implementation of the Global Action Programme on ESD (GAP). Furthermore, the workshop will discuss how to apply the ESD Concept into different contexts of practice, and how this contextualization will further the 5 priority areas of the GAP.

Speaker: 
Ms Injairu Kulundu, Youth Leadership Facilitator, South Africa
Mr Yasuhiko Okamoto, Professor, Okayama University of Science, Japan

Chair/Facilitator:  
Mr Rob O’Donoghue, Associate Professor, Rhodes University, South Africa
Mr Masahisa Sato, Associate Professor, Tokyo City University (Visiting Researcher, NIER), Japan

Rapporteur: Mr Stephen Sterling, Professor of Sustainability Education, Head of ESD, Centre for Sustainable Futures, Plymouth University, United Kingdom

2. Shaping the future we want: ESD and policy

Coordinators: The Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (for SADC-REEP) and the Ministry of Education and Training, Viet Nam

An enabling policy environment has repeatedly been recognized as a precondition for successful ESD implementation on the ground.

This workshop will draw out existing successes and challenges in designing and implementing ESD policy at international, regional and national levels, with a view to developing insights for the Global Action Programme and thus the future of ESD policy and practice. It will examine good practice in ESD policy and analyze the process of policy formulation in ESD. It will discuss how successful policy formulation combines top-down and bottom-up approaches.

Speaker: Mr Mahesh Pradhan, Chief, Environmental Education and Training Unit (EETU), Division of Environmental Policy Implementation (DEPI), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Chair/Facilitator: 
Mr Mike Ward, Executive Director, WESSA for SADC-REEP, South Africa
Mr Le Trong Hung, Deputy Director General, Department of Science, Technology and Environment, Ministry of Education and Training, Viet Nam

Rapporteur: Ingrid Mulà, COPERNICUS Alliance Coordinator, UK, Visiting Researcher, RCE Penang at University Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

3. Quality teaching and learning for a common future: how ESD contributes to global development goals

Coordinators: Swedish International Centre of Education for Sustainable Development and Global Campaign for Education

Internationally agreed development goals (including MDGs, Education for All, proposed SDGs and those embedded in international conventions and treaties) and related issues figure prominently in the content of ESD. These goals, based on notions of human rights, human freedoms and human capabilities, also inform the teaching and learning methods used.

This workshop will explore how during the DESD the content and methods of ESD have made a difference in learning outcomes associated with internationally-agreed development goals and agendas, and what the characteristics of successful and less successful approaches have been.
Within the framework of the Global Action Programme on ESD, the workshop participants will formulate concrete proposals for (i) integrating action on global development goals in ESD-inspired teaching and learning programmes and approaches, and (ii) integrating ESD as a vital means of implementation of the global development goals.

Speaker: 
Ms Sanskriti Menon, Programme Director, Centre for Environment Education, India
Mr Vernor Muñoz Villalobos, Former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Costa Rica

Chair/Facilitator: 
Mr Frans Lenglet, Director, Swedish International Centre of Education for Sustainable Development (SWEDESD), Sweden
Ms Helle Gudmandsen, Head of Education Campaign, Denmark, Global Campaign For Education, Denmark

Rapporteur: Ms Cresantia Frances Koya Vaka'uta, Associate Dean Research & Internationalization, Faculty of Arts, Law & Education, The University of the South Pacific, Fiji Islands

4. Learning across sectors and regions: upscaling and mainstreaming ESD through local initiatives and multi-stakeholder networks for ESD  

Coordinators: United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability and Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi

This workshop will celebrate the DESD by highlighting local initiatives for ESD and the advantages of taking on a multi-stakeholder and cross-sector approach at local level, as well as linking these local multi-stakeholder networks globally to advance learning for sustainable development. The workshop will facilitate discussions among participants around scaling up ESD actions beyond 2014 across different sectors and regions, building on the experience of using a multi-stakeholder and cross-sector approach developed by the Regional Centres of Expertise on ESD (RCEs), Abu Dhabi’s Sustainable Schools initiative, global network of National Cleaner Production Centres (NCPCs) and ICLEI-local governments for sustainability. The workshop will highlight the importance of:  aligning agendas and actions of diverse stakeholders; promoting global agenda and local action among ESD educators; and enhancing learning networks and partnerships for promoting ESD.

Speaker: Ms Ritu Thakur, Manager – Sustainability Development, ICLEI South Asia, India

Chair/Facilitator: 
Ms Rasha Al Madfai, Section Manager, Environmental Information, Science & Outreach Management Department , Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Ms Gayatri Raghwa, Senior specialist , Outreach, Outreach department, Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Ms Zinaida Fadeeva, Senior Specialist -- Strategy and Policy, Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, United Nations University 
Mr Mario Tabucanon, Visiting Professor, Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, United Nations University
       
Rapporteur: Mr Hirofumi Abe, Chair holder, UNESCO Chair in Research and Education for Sustainable Development & Vice President, Okayama University, Japan

5. Ethics-based educational innovation for the great transition

Coordinators: UNESCO Chair in Social Learning and Sustainable Development, University of Wageningen, Netherlands, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development, University of Peace, Costa Rica

The creation of a more sustainable world requires learning, and not just any learning, but learning that leads to a new kind of thinking, with alternative values and co-created, creative solutions, co-owned by more reflexive citizens, living in a more reflexive and resilient society. Examples of such learning include: ICT-supported citizen science, arts-based sustainability education, hybrid learning in vital coalitions and whole school approaches.
This workshop will explore such learning-based innovations that can help people reconnect with each other and the planet by critically examining their local realities and the globalizing forces that affect these realities, while working on meaningful and ethical socio-ecological outcomes. The rising popularity of ‘sustainability’ in science, society and the world of business could easily turn sustainability into a ‘catch-all’ concept, stripped from its original intent. To avoid this, ESD needs to reclaim a focus on the well-being of people and planet.

Speaker: 
Mr Bob Jickling, Professor emeritus, Environmental Education and Ethics, Lakehead University, Canada
Ms Waverli Maia Matarazzo-Neuberger, Professor and Director, Center for Sustainability, University Methodist, Sao Paulo, Brazil 

Chair/Facilitator: 
Mr Arjen Wals, Professor, UNESCO Chair in Social Learning and Sustainable Development, University of Wageningen, Netherlands, Adlerbert Guest Professor at University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Ms Mirian Vilela, Executive Director, Earth Charter International Secretariat, Earth Charter Center for Education for Sustainable Development, Costa Rica

Rapporteur: Mr Peter Blaze Corcoran, Professor of Environmental Studies and Environmental Education, Director of the Center for Environmental and Sustainability Education, College of Arts & Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University, USA

6. Principles for effective ESD partnerships between the private and the public sectors

Coordinators: Boubyan Bank, Kuwait, and Amana-Key Group, Brazil

Effective cooperation between the private and public sectors requires several stages of dialogue before any pragmatic actions are implemented. Executive education programmes create an ideal context in which leaders, both of private and public sectors, can work together and have quality time to debate a wide range of issues beyond the economic situation of the country and the world.

This workshop will present specific examples of public-private partnerships on ESD as well as executive education programmes geared towards innovation in the area of strategy and the management of large organizations.  Building on concrete examples of an executive education programme in Brazil and a school-based ESD initiative supported by a bank in Kuwait, the workshop aims at advancing debate on how to ensure effective partnership among all the sectors of society at local, national and international level.

Speaker/Chair/Facilitator:
Mr Oscar Motomura, CEO, Amana-Key Desenvolvimento e Educação, Brazil
Mr Qutayba Al-Bassam, Corporate Communications, Boubyan Bank, Kuwait 

Rapporteur: 
Mr Michael Scoullos, Director of Environmental Chemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Chemistry, UNESCO Chair & Network on Sustainable Development Management and Education in the Mediterranean National and Kapodistrian, University of Athens Panepistimioupoli, Greece

7. How monitoring and evaluation can drive change in ESD

Coordinators: DESD Monitoring and Evaluation Expert Group, UN Economic Commission for Europe, and Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan

The DESD International Implementation Scheme, approved by UNESCO Member States, identified Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) as a core component of this international effort. The DESD has shown that, when participatory evaluation frameworks are adopted, M&E can assist in capturing changes, in assessing progress and also act as a catalyst for action.

This workshop is centred around sharing understanding and experiences of the M & E undertaken during the DESD with the purpose of drawing lessons for the effective implementation of the Global Action Programme (GAP) on ESD. Stakeholders will be asked to map opportunities, identify key challenges and make recommendations for the M&E of the Global Action Programme. These recommendations will be explored in greater depth at the M&E of GAP workshop scheduled for the last day of the conference.

Speaker: 
Mr Ralph Carstens, Senior Research Analyst / Deputy Unit Head, International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Data Processing and Research Center (DPC)
Mr Roel van Raaij, Secretary of the Dutch Steering group for ESD, Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Netherlands

Chair/Facilitator:
Ms Daniella Tilbury, Chair, Monitoring and Evaluation of the UN DESD (MEEG)Ms Carolee Buckler, Manitoba Education, Advanced Learning, UNECE ESD Steering Committee
Mr Robert Didham, Senior Coordinator for Capacity Development and Knowledge Management, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Japan